Page 6 - UDC LEGACY Winter 2015

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Firebirds

impeded the University’s ability to advance.
He is moving deliberately, with purpose and
Rise Again!
sensitivity to the needs of students, faculty,

and staf. He is a champion of student success
and excellent in customer service. Equally

important, Mr. Mason is dedicated to the
T
University’s mission as a pacesetter in urban
he Firebird is a mythical creature education, ensuring that it ofers afordable

described as a large bird with ma- and efective undergraduate, graduate, pro-

jestic plumage that emits a bright fessional, and workplace education. The
red, orange, and yellow light, that Board of Trustees is conident that we chose

represents a turbulent lame of the
well. President Mason gives us hope that we

past. In folklore, the Firebird is comparable to are moving in the right direction to build
the Phoenix, rising from the ashes and project- upon the legacy and vision of Myrtilla Miner

ing a narrative of survival and hope.
more than 160 years ago. With Mr. Mason at

When I step onto the campus of the Uni- Dr. Mason is
the helm, there can be little doubt that the
versity of the District of Columbia, I sense an Firebird truly is on the rise, illuminating the
a champion of
electric air of excitement that I have not felt landscape of public higher education in the

before. I hear it in conversations with faculty, student success District of Columbia, and around the world.
staf and students. Even visitors notice it. This Don’t take my word for it. Read in this
and excellence in
new excitement, this electricity results from a issue of Legacy Magazine, President Mason’s

shared belief and shared hope that the Univer- customer service. thoughts about his new role and his plans for
sity of the District of Columbia is on the rise the future. We also recognize the hardworking
He is dedicated to
and, like its mascot, Firebird, it has survived Board of Trustees and pay tribute to the late
the University’s
turbulent times.
Floretta Dukes McKenzie, 2015 Distinguished
These feelings of bright possibility can be Alumna of the Year. Faculty research, our
mission as a
attributed to the arrival of Ronald Mason, Jr., Homeland Security Program, books written
pacesetter in
J.D., the school’s 9th president, selected during by members of our distinguished faculty, the
an intensive national search that involved a University’s land-grant mission, and other
urban education
review of 90 applications by a cross-section of exciting activities that have occurred in 2015
that ofers
the University stakeholders, including distin- are all featured. I hope you enjoy this issue
guished leaders in higher education, business of Legacy Magazine.
afordable
and government. The Board of Trustees chose
and efective
Mr. Mason because of his exemplary career. He
is a proven, highly motivated, accomplished undergraduate,

and exceptional professional, uniquely suited Elaine A. Crider
graduate,
to assume leadership of the University.
Already, President Mason has demonstrat- professional
Board of Trustees Chair
ed his ability to efect change at the Univer-
and workplace
sity, shifting the lexicon to student success,
excellence, and accountability. He is not education.

afraid to tackle diicult issues that previously

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FALL 2015